stories and confessions from an obsessive travel planner

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Any search of “things to do in Ireland” will undoubtedly include a tour of the famous Ring of Kerry. It’s often cited as one of Ireland’s top sights to see: #6 on this list, 2nd on this one, and at the top of Frommer’s “best scenic drives in Ireland”. What is the ring? It’s a driving route around the Iveragh peninsula, hugging the Atlantic coast closely and circling through the towns of Killarney and Kenmare, as well as Killarney National Park.

It’s also offers breathtaking scenery including the ocean, mountains, cliffs, lakes, waterfalls, fields, domesticated animals, and wildlife. And although I’d been to Killarney before, I had never driven the full Ring around the peninsula, only the bit near town and the Killarney National Park. Here is a preview of a few of my photos from the area:

See? breathtaking!

So you know I’m a planner, but my plans usually leave a bit of flexibility. I was planning to drive the 111-mile Ring myself; many tourists do it every day, and although there are harrowing stories involving oncoming buses, I figured my approximately 20,000,000 hours of commuting time spent on Rt 287 in New Jersey leaves me well prepared for just about anything. I even made a map with scenic pit stops and approximate drive times. But, as the day approached, and as I spent as a passenger on the “wrong” side in Scotland, I realized that if I drove myself, I would not be able to fully enjoy the scenery. So when Dave, our Corporate Transfer driver from Dublin, offered us contact information for his friend Aidan at Killarney Chauffeur, I took him up on it. We booked a day with Aidan and never looked back.

Aidan arrived around 9 am in a beautiful BMW 5 series, which was a nice upgrade from the rattletrap I had been driving. The day started out a bit overcast, but the gloom added to Kerry’s atmostphere (and we eventually found the sun once again). After a brief stop at the Aghadoe viewpoint just outside of Killarney, we drove through the tiny town of Killorglin.

In the center of Killorglin is the statue of a goat, named King Puck. Aidan explained that the goat had warned residents of the approach of Cromwell’s army, earning himself such a royal title. There is an annual “Puck Fair” in his honor as well. A very accomplished goat!

King Puck!

Just beyone Killorglin, we stoped at a roadside display of crafts that Aidan recommended, and once again came upon the sight of a dog… sitting on a donkey. I guess this is a thing in County Kerry?

Dogs + donkeys. Why?

Next, we stopped by the beach in Rossbeigh, which looks across to the Dingle Peninsula. Somehow I’m still surprised to see beaches in Ireland.

checking out a portion of Rossbeigh beach

Aidan offered us an educational tidbit here and there, including a brief explanation of common town name origins around Ireland:

Kill = church

Bally = Town of

There are a number of ancient ring forts around Kerry, and we had told Aidan we were interested to see one. He took us to Cahergall Stone Fort, which we were able to climb and take a few fun photos:

I’m the King of the World!Please don’t fall

Just outside the fort, I took one of my favorite photos of this trip. This home is so peaceful looking, I think I could live here, very happily:

Serenity Now

Valentia Island was our next stop, offering dramatic, steep cliffs and views back to the larger island. Aidan took us by the Valentia slate quarry, bored deep into a mountain:

You may or may not have noticed in the photo above, but Mary watches over it all:

Beyond the quarry, we stretched our legs by hiking up to Bray Head on Valentia:

Skellig Michael, filming site for Luke Skywalker’s home in “The Last Jedi”, in the far distanceLooking across toward Portmagee

After a stop in Portmagee at The Moorings for a very pleasant lunch, we arrived at the Kerry Cliffs. By now, Aidan had figured out that we like taking photos on cliffs. We worked off our lunch hiking to the top, which was only about 2/3 mile from the parking lot, but fairly steep. Also, the sun came out while we were at lunch!

Skellig Michael, closer now, in the distance.

On our way to put those calories back on at the Skellig Chocolate Factory, I spotted an abandoned cottage that I tried photographing from several angles. I thought the sky, clouds, and shadows seemed almost surreal. I do need to photoshop out the antennae, but I love these photos. You tell me which is best:

We completed our trip around the Ring with stops in Caherdaniel:

Mary is very popular in IrelandSomehow, we will pass that car, and no one will fall off a cliff

The bright little town of Sneem:

Just the cheeriest looking pub ever

And a few views across Killarney National Park:

An overlook known as Ladies’ View, where Queen Victoria’s laides-in-waiting visited in 1861

Now, 111 miles may not sound like a lot – here in America, barring traffic, it’s an easy 2 hour drive. But attempting the ROK in anything under 6 hours is a foolhardy endeavor, due to a combination of low speeds; windy, narrow roads; and the absolute compulsion to photograph nearly everything in sight. My iphone says I took 133 photos on our trip around the ring – and it wasn’t enough. Guess I need to go back!!

From our base in Killarney, Oldest and I next headed to one of my favorite spots in Ireland: the Dingle Peninsula. While it’s definitely worthwhile to spend more time here by staying in Dingle Town, about 1/2 way out the peninsula, it would have been too many overnight destinations for us on this trip. The drive from Killarney was a surprisingly easy and uncomplicated day trip.

Just past Inch Beach on the R 561 (“R” roads are very narrow, twisty, and “interesting!”, only to be surpassed in treachery by “L” roads), we had to slow down for this lovely lady and her baby, who can barely be seen behind mama:

Farmers mark their sheep with different shades of paint

Since my primary goal was to show Oldest the Slea Head Drive, at the peninsula’s tip, we set our Google Maps directions straight for Dingle town, where one of the first sights we came upon was …. a dog … sitting on top of a donkey. Hey, why not?

We wandered around the busy town for a bit, enjoyed an early lunch, and downed a pint of Crean’s, the local beer. Crean’s is named after Tom Crean, an Antarctic explorer who hailed from the Dingle Peninsula.

Heading to the Beer Garden at Danno’sGlad it wasn’t Monday, but this sign is cute!

Only one, though, because I was back to driving – and now the roads became quite narrow. While it’s possible for two cars to pass, it’s not necessarily advisable:

Oldest took this one from the passenger side.

Slea Head marks the end of the peninsula, and, like many points on the west coast, the locals will tell you when looking east “The next stop is America!”. We continued to benefit from nice weather, so we were fairly active in our exploration of the peninsula, first walking from the parking area down to Slea Head Beach, at sea level:

View of Slea Head Beach, from above. The “arrow” in the sand must be pointing to buried treasure. Right?This sign did not stop the swimmers

Then we hiked back up, and further up, to Dunmore Head promontory. Nearby signs told us that some filming for Star Wars took place here, although it is not the more famous Skellig Michael island,which is off the coast to our south.

Walking up to the Head required climbing over an old stone fence, which didn’t work out so well for yours truly, who lost her balance and skinned my knees in a pretty gruesome way (I’ll spare you the yucky photo). It was still worthwhile, though, just for these photos, looking back at the peninsula. It was my 3rd trip to this spot, and each time I want to lie down and never leave these soft, rolling, green hills. Although I imagine I might feel differently in, say, December.

Oldest with one of the two “Devils Horns” at Dunmore HeadBeautiful, even when seen with bloody knees

In three trips to Ireland, I have managed to make it to the Slea Head drive on the Dingle peninsula every time. It is truly one of the most peaceful places I have ever visited, and I truly enjoyed sharing it with Oldest. I have no doubt I will return again.

Time traveling back to Summer 2018, I’m with Oldest in Ireland. After pretending to be part of a medieval adventure with Game of Thrones Tours, it was time for some real, 2018-style adventure: driving in Ireland. That’s right, I’m getting behind the wheel, on the “wrong” side of the road.

First up: I heeded the advice of the Tripadvisor forums, and rented the smallest car possible. I think a well-fed horse might have been bigger.

I hired Corporate Transfers to take us from our Dublin lodging to the Hertz Dublin City Centre South location on Circular road; their Transfer & Pilot Service includes a driver who we would follow out of Dublin city onto the main highways. I have had the pleasure of meeting Corporate Transfers’ proprietor, Fintan Murray, on previous Ireland visits.

The Hertz location was packed and although we had a reservation, we waited in line for a good hour, while Dave from Corporate Transfers waited very patiently outside. If you rent a car in Ireland, be prepared for long waits: many people do not do their research and do not understand the insurance options for driving in Ireland (hint: buy it all), which lengthens the process. Finally, off we went toward Killarney, following Dave around busy city streets (eek!) until we reached the M7, a major, divided highway where I felt very comfortable driving. If it’s your first time driving on the left, I highly recommend this service, as navigating tight one-way city streets is unlikely to be an easy baptism.

The drive from Dublin to Killarney takes a little over 3 hours. The drive was surprisingly uneventful, and we were thrilled to find a tiny parking spot, to fit our tiny car, right in front of our hotel, the International Hotel Killarney. This was our biggest lodging splurge of the trip; I figured that after 9 days of traveling, we were due for a full service hotel experience. The hotel is well-located in the center of town, and we found the beds to be extremely comfortable.

Killarney’s High Street. It think that dude is checking me out ;)!

After checking in, we began to make our way into Killarney’s afternoon/night life. It was the weekend of the annual Ring of Kerry charity bike race, so Killarney, as the largest town on the Ring, was full of very fit revelers. We spent most of the evening in and out of O’Connor’s and Tatler Jack’s – the, uh, fuzzy/crooked nature of these photos hopefully assures my readers that I was having a GOOD time.

Tiny car trying to drive through the alley outside O’Connor’s. Those guys don’t look like they’re getting out of the way, do they?

Fun, mixed-age crowd (who might have had a few drinks?) at Tatler Jack’s

Killarney is an excellent base for touring beautiful southwestern Ireland: the Ring of Kerry, the Dingle Peninsula, and other beautiful landscapes. While not a large city, there are plenty of lodging and dining options from hostels and pubs to upscale resorts and 5 star dining. And look: other Cubs fans visit here too! Hi Dave & Alex! Go Cubs!

When it comes to travel, I’m something of a late bloomer. As a child growing up outside of Chicago, I always looked forward to taking trips with my parents, and was lucky enough to visit Disney World and Hawaii before the age of 18. Torch Lake, MI was a regular destination, as was Door County, WI. Even a train ride to the big city was an adventure I loved!

After college, I relocated to New Jersey to get married and start a family at the age of 25. Due to a lack of both funds and time, my own first trips were short and sweet. A road trip to Myrtle Beach. Visiting family in Florida and Virginia. With a full time job and a growing family, for many years there was little time for anything but a weekend at the Jersey Shore.

I enjoyed planning a few family trips – a surprise trip to Disney World for my children, a cruise, and a rented condo in Bethany Beach, DE. I researched, budgeted, and booked everything. Somehow, my husband was never quite happy with my choices.

After a 2007 divorce I should have seen coming (but didn’t), I decided that the best way to regroup would be to take my two sons, then 12 and 7, on a trip to Sweet Home Chicago. With no husband to second guess me, I felt that peculiar mix of discomfort and excitement that sparked my travel addiction.

So off we went, the “three musketeers” as we began calling ourselves. We stayed in hotels, navigated mass transit, visited friends, and toured museums, skyscrapers, and ballparks. I introduced the boys to all my hometown favorites: deep dish pizza, the “El”, Michigan Avenue, and the Cubs!

When I got home, it quickly became apparent that there was only one thing to do: begin planning my next adventure. And the next, and the next…